Wordwyrt

betrayal

/bɪˈtɹeɪəl/bih-TRAY-uhl
/bɪˈtɹeɪəl/bih-TRAY-uhl

Meaningthe act of betraying

Common meaning: breaking someone's trust

Journey through time

  1. Latintradere‘hand over’source
  2. Old Frenchtraïr‘betray’source
  3. Middle Englishbitrayen‘betray’source
  4. Englishbetray‘be disloyal to or reveal a confidence’
  5. Englishformed in English from betraybetrayal‘breaking someone's trust’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from betray + -al.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), BETRAY, p.61 · scan

Source words

  • tradere Latin · source word “hand over”

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